The lawyer once again appealed against the denial of access to her clients. The court declared the “Fortress” plan legal

The Moscow City Court recognized the legal refusal of lawyer Maria Eismont to visit her clients at the police department in 2019. Lawyer Alexander Maltsev reported this on his Facebook.

The police did not allow Eismont to see the detainees under the pretext of introducing the “Fortress” plan. On October 21, 2020, the Court of Cassation overturned the decisions of the Presnensky District Court and the Moscow City Court to reject the lawyer’s claim against the police department and sent the case for a new trial.

On June 12, 2019, Maria Eismont came to the Airport police department to provide legal assistance to three clients detained at a protest against fabricated cases. They refused to allow the lawyer to see the activists - the employees referred to the allegedly introduced “Fortress” plan. At the same time, other people entered the police department without hindrance.

• Lawyer Maria Eismont has repeatedly appealed against the denial of access to her clients. On May 28, 2021, the Simonovsky Court of Moscow declared the “Fortress” plan, introduced after arrests at the protest against amendments to the “Constitution” on July 15, 2020, illegal.
• “Fortress” is a plan that should be introduced in the event of a real threat or for training purposes in the internal affairs department. In theory, the entrance and exit to the building are completely blocked, and the personnel hold the defense. Senior management initiates the plan, or at least is aware of its initiation. The actions of employees during the “Fortress” are regulated by state secrets. Despite the fact that the “Fortress” plan is an emergency measure, security forces regularly use it to prevent defenders from accessing those detained at protest rallies.
• The reason for the action on June 12, 2019 against fabricated cases was the criminal prosecution of Meduza journalist Ivan Golunov. The action was accompanied by harsh and mass arrests . In Moscow that day, according to OVD-Info, 530 people were detained, at least five spent the night in police departments.
• Meduza investigative department correspondent Ivan Golunov was detained on June 6, 2019. A criminal case was opened against him for attempting to sell drugs on a large scale (clause “d”, part 4, article 228.1 of the Criminal Code with the use of part 3, article 30 of the Criminal Code). The journalist himself said that bags of drugs were planted on him, and after his arrest they beat him, refused to call an ambulance and did not allow him to call a lawyer. In court, the journalist suggested that the reason for initiating the case was an investigation into the funeral business: he was detained on the day the first draft was submitted; he had previously received threats because of this text. On June 11, the charges against Golunov were completely dropped and released from house arrest due to the lack of proof of his participation in the commission of the crime.